Some thoughts about the Obra Hispana Assembly
I’ve noticed that we don’t have a blog in Spanish. Last week I was in San Diego attending the Obra Hispana Assembly and Convention, that reason, I am going to write in Spanish. The theme of the event was “We celebrate our Creator” y the main verse was Revelation 1:8: Christ, Alfa and Omega.
I want to share some words that I heard throughout the week, and my thoughts on those words.
A sign of a good sermon is that each person listening feels like the sermon was written specifically for himself or herself. Each person can take what he or she needs to hear and that which will help him or her most. In the words of Dr. Samuel Pagán I heard a lot of things that spoke specifically to me.
Dr. Samuel Pagán gave many interesting presentations throughout the week. One day he told us that he had studied with Palestinians, and they were not all terrorists. All of us have had the same tribulations and trials.
He told us that salvation is to breathe. Salvation is to take a deep breath. Salvation will feel like the release of a breath of a life well lived.
Each culture communicates differently. We need to understand that our cultures are different and that we don’t have everything in common, but if we listen enough we will be able to understand each other.
In a prayer, he said “you are the God of the immigrants. You are the God of the poor” and of the rich, of everyone equally.
And finally, he told us that God calls to us to be people of peace. These words spoke very strongly to me. We are here to be part of the world, to have a positive impact on our churches, but more importantly, en our cultures and in our communities. We are called to treat all the people of the world with respect and with equality, without considering their race, skin color, country of origin, or economic situation.
This is our God: a God of immigrants, a God that guides us to pardon, and accept everyone.
This is our God.

Cara McKinney is a 2014 Disciples Peace Fellowship Intern, sponsored by Disciples Center for Public Witness and Disciples Women.